10 Things I Hate About You
by RukiaRae
Summary: Tara isn't allowed to date until her misanthropic sister, Rachel does! With the help of Vic, the new kid (Garfield) and Richard, will they be able to make Rachel love so Gar can finally get his date with Tara? AU Rob/Rae BB/Tara (Rated after the movie) It doesn't look like it because I've edited but NEW CHAPTER NOW UP!
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey everyone! **_

_**So I was browsing FF, going through a Rob/Rae story binge when I came across ****nefieslab's proposal series. I remembered a deal I had struck with him about updating this story so he would update his proposal one-shots. I know it's been forever and he's probably not on the site with regularity anymore, however, I felt like I owed it to ****nefieslab to complete this story. So I guess that means this story is really only alive because of ****nefieslab, so I dedicate the story to you and our previous deal. **_

_**********Going through the fic, I wasn't entirely happy with the way it was heading so I've decided to revive the story and edit what I have and then continuing on. **__**I've decided to do a re-write of this story to make it more of my own. The plot will probably still follow that of the film, however, I'm hoping to change the dialogue and the events to reflect the characters better instead of just sticking the characters in the setting of the film. I'm hoping with editing I also won't hate this story so much and will feel like updating it with more regularity. **_

_**So, here is the first bit, hope you all enjoy!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the film or the Teen Titans**_

Characters:

Most are self-explanatory so here are the less obvious ones:

Greg-Gizmo

Malcolm-Malchior

Courtney-Blackfire (who has brown hair in the story since I'm envisioning Rachel/Raven's hair to be much like Blackfire's from the series)

_Rachel's POV_

After a rough morning, I finally arrived to Jump High. I sighed, reminding myself that I was almost done with this place, that I would be leaving it soon as a senior. Four years of this place, however, was just too much. I sighed, best get the day over with. I parked close to the exit of the parking lot as to give me an advantage when leaving at the end of the day. I then, like every other day, had to weave my way through the crowds of myriad of students, all horsing around until class started.

"Oh my gosh! Lets put a poster here!" shrieked Kathrine, the school bimbo. _I guess every school has to have at least one..._

To say she annoyed me was an understatement. The girl was dumber than a sack of bricks and spent most of her time chairing useless committees (like the prom committee she was currently putting up posters for) and spent the remainder of her time chasing after the hot guys in the school. It was common knowledge the girl was easy, she'd been known to get with anyone remotely attractive, even Freshmen.

"Kitty (as Kathrine came to call herself, and eventually everyone else did too), let's put one here too!" Said one of her friends in the same high-pitched tone.

_Ugh_ _what a pathetic event_ I couldn't help but thinking as I tore down one of the posters that advertised prom and threw it away, ignoring Kitty's feeble protests of 'put that back'. Upon hearing the first morning bell, I decided to head into the double mahogany doors I had come to loathe during my time here and make my way to my first class.

_Garfield POV_

I sat in the guidance counselor's office so that I could get my schedule. On her desk she had a plaque with her name on it, which happened to be Ms. Perky. She was typing something that was making her smile, so I highly doubted that it was for work. Her cat-eye reddish glasses contrasted with the pale pink suit she wore.

"I'll be right with you," She said but gave no other indication of my presence. I later learned that she was working on a _romance_ novel. That is just sick! Anyway, when she closed her computer, she tried to start up a conversation with me (and failed pretty badly, especially seeing as she was the school's guidance counselor). "My, my nine schools in ten years." She commented while handing me my class schedule.

"Does your father work in the military?" she asked me.

"Yea, he does-"

"Okaaayyy. Well that's enough." She replied, cutting me off, "I'm sure you won't find Jump high any different from your old schools. But, as part of our welcome initiative, you'll meet a student of ours who will show you around and help you settle in to life here at Jump City. Victor Stone is going to meet you outside of this office before the bell rings to explain the rules and show you around."

Clearly not one for conversation, she began to usher me out after a moment of silence between us.

"Hurry up, I have other students to see and a novel to finish. Go, go," She said in a fake, chipper tone.

I started slowly backing out of the room, when I bumped into the coat rack. _Smooth_ I thought before nearly running into this scary looking kid on my way out. He had black hair that came down to his shoulders and he wore a black shirt with baggy jeans.

"Ah, Richard," said Ms. Perky, "making our visits a weekly ritual?"

I didn't stay to find out his response, but instead quickly dashed out of the office.

_10 minutes later…_

"'Sup man?" asked this tall and very muscle-y African-American guy, "I was assigned to show you around Jump High. My name is Victor Stone, but you can call me Vic or Cy." He seemed really nice.

"Why Cy?" I asked because, the last time I checked, there was no way to get Cy from Victor.

"Well I'm great with computers so my friends call me Cy- short for Cyborg." He added that last part after seeing the look of confusion on my face.

"Ooh," I said, almost in awe, as it all made sense. We walked the halls in silence for a moment before I decided to do what I do best.

"So, dude, Cy, can I tell you a joke?" Not wanting him to reject the offer and return us to the awkward silence, I pressed on before he could answer.

"Ok so there are these 2 muffins in an oven, right?"

"Okay…"mumbled Cy.

"Okay, they're both sitting, just chilling and getting baked. One of them yells 'Jeez its hot in here!' and the other looks over and replies 'Holy Crap, a talking muffin!'"

"Get it?" I asked after he stared at me for a while.

"You need some work," Cy said nicely.

"Well, It has been two days since I told a joke, I'm just a little rusty!" I replied with my 100-watt smile. This made Cy laugh.

"Okay, man, there's not a lot of time to go over this before class, but I'll try to give you the basic breakdown," said Cy, "This school has your average rich snobs, they tend to hang out together and wear expensive clothes. If they don't talk to you first, don't bother man. They'll just ignore you or tease you."

Curious, I asked, "Is this your rule or theirs?"

He shrugged, "Don't know, don't care. I'm not dying to talk to them but feel free to test it out."

"Oh, um, that's okay, I'm good," I stuttered back, hoping I disguised my fear of being noticed by a crowd who would (and often did) pick me as the butt of their taunts.

"These are the studious people," he commented, gesturing to a group of kids doing last minute work for class or reading ahead, "Many of them are also 'coffee people'. Never make any sudden movements around them, they get angry when you accidentally spill coffee on their schoolwork."

"These delusionals are the White rosters. They're Bob Marley fans and they think they're black. They're semi-political but they mostly-"

"Smoke." I finished for him. He nodded and we continued on with the tour.

"These are your future MBAs of our school," he introduced. The group was seated out in the courtyard and all of them had out laptops or graphs and were eagerly conversing about the latest business trends and theories.

A few of them waved at Cy and he responded.

"How do you know them?" I asked since this was the only group that had acknowledged us.

"I used to be one of them," he explained, "Until I took a tech course and found that I loved technology and repair work more. We still talk, but it's been a while. It's not the same, when you're not with them everyday. And our deteriorating friendship has just gotten worse especially now that Greg is one of them."

"Greg?"

"The pint-sized one who's yelling out the choice insults," informed Cy bitterly, "little brat always thought he was better than me, took the fun out of it all."

Sure enough, one of the shortest guys dressed in a full tie and suit was yelling at one of his mates, loudly calling him a 'snot-nosed, barf-brained idiot'.

Before I could make any sympathetic comment, the most beautiful girl in a light blue sundress walked by us to meet her group of friends. Her dress made her long blonde hair stand out more and, from the brief glance I got, I saw the dress also matched the lively blue of her eyes.

"What group is she in?" I asked, practically drooling, not caring if Cy knew I had a crush on her.

"She belongs in the 'never gonna happen' group. Her name is Tara Roth."

"Who are those other girls with her?"

"That's Karen," he stated, pointing, "everyone just calls her Bee, the redhead is Kori and the other girl is Kori's sister, Courtney."

"My heart is ensnared by Tara," I said dramatically.

He rolled his eyes at my antics.

They then began to walk in front of us, talking and chatting, oblivious to Cy and me. They were discussing trends and fashion, most of which went over my head to be honest. They then agreed to go shopping that weekend on Saturday afternoon. I had never wanted to go to the mall so badly in my life.

"Listen forget her," warned Cy, "Her father is strict as hell and it's a well known fact that she's not allowed to date."

"Uh- huh," I replied, not really listening to what he said but instead trying to get one more glance at Tara.

With that, the school bell rang, signaling two minutes to get to class. I sighed, dejectedly, and promised to meet Vic for lunch later that day.

* * *

_Rachel's POV_

I sat in my seat, bored, waiting for class to begin. Just then the obnoxious school bell rang loudly, announcing the start of class.

Our honors English teacher, Mr. Morgan asked us "Okay then, what did everyone think of _The Sun also Rises_?"

Kitty quickly shot her hand in the air. _How she got in this honours English class, I will never know_ I pondered.

"Yes Ms. Mothella?" asked Mr. Morgan.

"I loved it. He's so romantic!" she said in a sing-song way.

_Okay, someone needs to correct her, and apparently it'll have to be me. Again._

"Romantic? Hemmingway? Ugh. He was an abusive alcoholic misogamist who squandered entire life around Picasso trying to nail his leftovers," I commented before cringing. That came out more bitter than I had intended.

In my defence, though, Kitten has that polarising effect on people. Some agree with her and, those that don't, disagree more radically than they would if the conversation was with a normal individual—almost as though disagreeing vehemently with Kitten proves you a smart individual. Or maybe that's just me.

"As opposed to a bitter self-righteous hag who has no friends?" inquired the most annoying popular kid in the class, Roy Harper. He was clad in a fitted burgundy shirt, loose fitting jeans and converses. His red hair was slicked back as usual. This comment caused his dumb ass friends to laugh.

"Pipe down, Harper." Said Mr. Morgan, apparently annoyed that we were fighting in class again.

These volleys of comments were exchanged nearly every class. The one thing Roy and I could agree on was the fact that we disagreed on everything. And that we were both vocal to a fault.

"I guess in this society, being male and an asshole makes you worthy of our time," I shot back, causing many people in the class to go "ooo".

"What about Sylvia Plath or Charlotte Brontë or another Strong woman perspective?" I asked.

Yes, I'm well read, so what? It always bothered me that in every English course we only focus on the basic English literature, like Hemmingway and Shakespeare. Sure they have their good qualities, but it's hardly a balanced approach to literature.

"So, did I miss anything?" asked Richard cockily as he stepped into class, extremely late. He wore a somewhat tight, plain black shirt and semi-baggy, dark jeans. He had his usual pair of dark sunglasses and his hair wasn't in its normal ponytail, but instead it was let down. I rolled my eyes at his normal, obnoxious behavior.

"Just the oppressive patriarchal views that dictate our education," I answered bitterly.

"Good, nothing much, then," he replied with a lopsided smile before leaving the classroom again, despite Mr. Morgan's loud protests.

"Hey Mr. Morgan, is there any chance we can get Rachel to take her Midol before she comes to class?" inquired Roy, bringing the teacher's attention back to the class.

I glared at him. Just as I was about to retort, Mr. Morgan finally stepped in, yelling at Roy and I for constantly disrupting class with our trivial arguments.

"Anything else?" I asked rudely. After all, he just insulted me (my arguments are never trivial).

"Yeah. Go to the office," He replied, obviously reigning in a nasty reply.

"What? Mr. Morgan-"

His glare notified me that I had no choice in the matter. Sulkily, I grabbed my things, while pulling my emotions together. I then coolly stood up and, on my way to the exit, hit Roy on the head with my large book in response to his arrogant and triumphant look. I could hear Mr. Morgan continue with his lecture from the hall.

* * *

_At the office (and where the guidance counsellor's office is)..._

At the office, I could hear the guidance counsellor in her office mumbling to herself. Trying to finish her novel, no doubt.

Not bothering to ask permission, after all, we see each other with striking frequency, I entered her cluttered office. Many romance novels decorated her small bookshelf and papers littered her desk. There was one small, overused chair for her guests, which I sat down in, waiting for her to find a pause in her writing to address me.

While waiting for her to take notice of me, I observed the ageing woman. Her bug eyes looked extremely red from staring at the computer screen, her glasses were lopsided and she looked stressed. I almost felt bad about showing up yet again, that is, until she opened her mouth and began to be just a rude and Mr. Morgan had been.

"So I hear you were terrorizing Mr. Morgan's class. Again," She said in a dull tone.

"Expressing my opinion is not a terrorist action," I replied in the same monotonous tone.

"The way you express yourself could be," she mumbled, so much for her 'support' and 'guidance', "Malcolm is doing much better now, by the way."

I had forgotten about him, this year had been peaceful without him around. I guess in that instance I did get a little carried away, but he deserved it. I won't get into the details, but he did.

"I still maintain that he hit his face in the wall, breaking his nose, to make me look guilty." Okay, so that wasn't true, but there was no evidence to prove otherwise_. _Did I mention he deserved it? The bastard.

"The point is, dear," she tried to explain, "people perceive you as somewhat…"

"Tempestuous?' I finished for her. Many people have tried telling me the same thing.

"Bitch would be the colloquial term," she said while frowning, "you might want to work on that."

I hid the frown forming on my lips, I wasn't a bitch, I just didn't tolerate bullshit. I mostly kept to myself, had a few friends, and, all in all, wasn't too bad. So why did everyone think I was such a terrible person?

"As always, thank-you for your excellent guidance," I replied sarcastically while picking up my messenger bag, eager to get out of her office and have time to collect my thoughts. To remind myself that what others thought didn't matter to me, as always.

I smiled, recalling one of the better things about Malcolm. He had a red shirt that read 'Keep Calm and Carry On', and while I hate that British bastard, that slogan has stuck with me since.

"I'll let you get back to your novel," I said on my way out.

* * *

_Roy Harper POV_

After English, I met with my buddies in the courtyard and we began assessing the female population of our school. It's something we do when we're bored, a nice way to pass the time.

"Looking good ladies!" I called out to Tara and her friend Karen as they passed by us. They giggled before continuing on.

"Man, she's out of reach, even for you," My best friend said, "I mean, that's Tara Roth."

"No one is out of my reach," I replied coolly to my friend, and I made sure Tara didn't hear me. _I mean I am the most popular guy in school, and I do have all of the girls after me. Plus I am a model, who wouldn't want me?_

"Want to put money on that?" asked my friend.

"I don't need money," I snorted angrily (it was true, after all), "This I'm going to do for fun."

_What could be better than knocking up one of the last virgins in the school that everyone knows is off-limits?_

_Garfield POV_

"Who's that guy?" I (accidentally) squeaked, pointing to the ginger guy in the wine-coloured shirt. He looked relaxed, at ease in a place he, no doubt, considered to be his kingdom.

"Oh. That's Roy Harper. He's one of the rich snobs," replied Cy, "and a model."

"He's a model?" I asked, laughing extremely hard.

"Yea," said Cy with a mischievous grin on his face, "he does mostly reasonable stuff. But it is rumoured that he has a new brief ad coming out soon."

"Really?" That made me laugh all the more until tears cascaded down my face.

Cy nodded, joining me in laughter.

Then I spotted her. Tara Roth.

"Dude, look at her," I said, pointing to her.

I zoned out pretty badly daydreaming about what it would be like to go out with Tara. We would do everything—the movies, carnivals, late-night diners. Although she doesn't show it, I think she could be a lot of fun. I feel like she would just _get _me.

At Cy's scowl, I replied, "There's more to her than you think." I was practically whining now, but I didn't care, "I mean look at the way she smiles an-and I bet she has a stunning laugh. You're missing what's there."

"Garfield, no. No. What's there is a little princess wearing a strategically planned outfit to make guys like us," he gestured to themselves, "realize that we can't have her and make guys like Roy realize they want to. You'll never get her. Plus, I mentioned, she's not allowed to date anyway."

"No. No. You're wrong about her, " I tried to tell Cy, though I could tell that he didn't understand.

After being visibly deflated for a few moments, Cy amended, "You think I'm wrong? Alright, she's looking for an Algebra II tutor, grass stain."

Yes! Cy finally caved! Hallelujah! In my head I did a little happy dance and, it wasn't until I heard Cy's booming laugh, that I realised said dance wasn't just in my head. Whatever, I have just been given a rare opportunity, one that I don't intend on squandering.

"Dude! Are you serious? That's perfect!"

"Are you even good at math?" asked Cy in a tone that said that he, in fact, already knew the answer to my question.

"Well, no. But I will be!" I replied with a drunk smile on my face.

* * *

_Rachel's POV_

I was walking to my beat up, read and white, crappy car talking to my best friend, Jinx (her real name is Jessica—I'm the only one who's allowed to call her Jinx without losing a limb). I sighed, noticing Roy's sleek red convertible blocking my car from pulling out of the school parking lot.

Before he could say whatever insult he had planned, I curtly said, sarcastically, "Run along." Thankfully, he drove off without any further issue. I was not in the mood to deal with him today.

_Tara POV_

"I know you can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" asked my best friend Kori, who moved here from Italy a year ago, and was still learning proper English. Looking at her, I sighed, feeling inadequate. Despite her lack of English, she was still popular. She was tall, so tall she could've been a model, with olive skin and long red hair. Her green eyes were always dancing with joy about some aspect of American culture that she found enjoyable. She often asked questions that, from many, would seem dumb, but from her, appeared naive and cute (at least, according to the long line of guys wanting to date her).

Lost in thought, I forced myself to come back to her question and consider it, after all, it logically made sense. I was about to answer when Roy Harper (_yes, that Roy! The most popular guy in school!) _stopped his car, offering me and Kori a ride home.

_Oh my gosh! The most popular boy in school is taking us home! _I shrieked in my head, but on the outside, I managed to still look calm and composed. Kori and I exchanged excited looks, and Kori let out a small squeal of delight before we hopped in.

His car was definitely extremely expensive. _Wow! This is so COOL!_ I thought. "You ladies interested in getting a quick bite to eat first?" he asked. We both nodded, eager to spend more time with this legend.

_Rachel POV_

"That's a charming new development," said my best friend, Jinx, commenting on my sister going home with Roy.

Her pink streaked brown hair stood out with against her white peasant blouse and her long, purple gypsy skirt. I, personally, wouldn't be caught dead in a dress or skirt. _It's funny how opposite we look and yet how similarly opinionated we are_. Unlike Jinx, I don't dress up for school. A simple dark tee and jeans have been my school uniform for the past year or so. My purple streaked onyx hair is always a long, tangled mess that I never have the patience to deal with in the morning.

I remember often wondering how the popular kids dealt with having so much hair and making it look pretty. I borrowed my sister's flat iron one day to try and tame my hair, a feat that took almost an hour. After that, I decided, it was best to just roll out of bed an throw it up than to waste all that time.

"It's weird," I replied monotonously to her earlier comment. I started my car and put Evanescence, our favourite band, on my ipod for the drive home.

Just as I was pulling out of the parking lot, I had to come to a sudden halt. Some new kid was trying to ride a moped and failing. _I don't need this right now! I just want to get home, is that too much to ask?_

To get him out of my way I stuck my head out of my car and yelled "First you move the control in REVERSE and then you drive!"

I resisted the urge to call out a string of curses after the comment. Today just needed to be over. It was an unusually stressful day that reminded me of my weaknesses and, without soccer after school to take my anger and other emotions out on, I needed to get home to meditate with a nice cup of tea. That would calm me and remind me that I don't need to care what these high school cretins think, that many are going to be unsuccessful dropouts that I won't even know exist in 10 years.

Squeezing her hands on the steering wheel until they were white from her grip, she waited for the guy to get out of her way.

_Garfield POV_

"First you move the control in REVERSE and then you drive!" yelled a terrifying student. She had ebony hair with bits of violet and her eyes were rimmed in dark eyeliner, enhancing the cold glare she threw my way.

_What's her problem? _I thought, quickly reversing away from her car and stopping sideways in front of parked cars. She then took off to, where I imagine, her home.

"You okay, man? She nearly ran you over!" asked my newest friend, Vic.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered honestly, still shaken by what happened. The girl was unnerving, "Dude, she was _creepy_."

Vic smiled an I-told-you-so smile, "You just survived an encounter with the Demon." I was confused until, after his dramatic pause, he added, "That's your girlfriend's sister".

"Wait, that's Tara's sister?" I asked in disbelief, not understanding how a family could produce such opposites.

"Yup, the menace herself," he explained. "Can I have my moped back?"

I handed over the keys. Any other day I would have been adamant about riding again, however, the encounter with the demon had scared me. I just wanted to get home. Plus, then, I could get started on doing extra math work so I would be able to take up Tara's offer soon and, hopefully, before someone else did. Still, I waited until Vic had parked his moped so I could say a proper goodbye.

"I got football practice, Grass stain. Catch ya tomorrow?" asked Vic, who had clearly recovered from our minor encounter with _it. _

"'Course," I replied, "See ya!"

* * *

**So I kept most of the insults between Rachel and Roy the same as in the film because, quite frankly, I could not come up with better dialogue than the film. Let me know what you think of the edited version so far!**

**~RR**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so I'm aware that this chapter is half in first person, half in third. They were originally two separate chapters that I've put together during my edits. I want to know in your reviews if you think the story should be in first or third person. Read both sections and tell me which one flows best. I'll come back to the chapter and change the other half to the one voted the best medium for the story. The next chapter, which I have some severe edits to make so it fits more with the characters, won't be reposted for the next few days. I'm hoping to get 5 reviews on the chapter that vote on what way to tell the story. Please, if you have the time, drop a line to say which half was better!**

**And now, here it is, hope you enjoy the edited story! (I know the edits aren't that big, but I'm hoping it makes a difference to the story!)**

**Old Problem, New Rule**

_Rachel POV_

I sat in the lotus position in my comfy, black sweats, arms raised, chanting silently to myself. _Ohmmmmmm. _It really was a great way to clear the mind and get rid of stray thoughts and emotions. I normally started every morning with such meditation (such is what it takes to deal with Roy Harper), however, this morning I had overslept and didn't have the time. This, I logically concluded, was the source of my bad day. Next to me sat _The Bell Jar _by Sylvia Plath, a strong woman writer who explored the insane in her book. I was about 1/3 of the way into it and planned on reading it after my meditations.

Sitting there, I could feel a shadow fall across me (like I said, meditation helps me get more in tune-not only with myself, but my surroundings as well, it seemed). I saw my father, dressed in his trademark outfit of nice, khaki pants; a button-up, striped shirt; and a v-neck sweater that matched the stripes, come in with the mail.

"Did you make anyone cry today?" he asked me as he thumbed through the heap of mail received from today.

Yes, I've made many a-dork cry with my "meanness" which often just happens to be misinterpreted sarcasm. Not that I try and make them feel better, that's what their friends and the guidance counsellors are for. The way I see it, it isn't my problem and nor should I concern myself with their issues.

"Sadly, no," I replied, "but it's only 4:30." This made him look up and smile. He understands sarcasm. He also understood that afternoon meditation almost always meant a bad day at school, hence the question.

"Hi daddy!" said Tara in a sing-song voice that made me want to puke. She then bounded over to our father, all bubbly mind you, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, precious," he distractedly replied as he went back to skimming the mail.

I sighed, I knew my father understood me, but sometimes, I felt like he wanted me to be more like Tara—outgoing, bubbly and normal.

"And where have you been?" I asked sourly to distract my wayward thoughts. Getting her into trouble was too easy.

Her face appeared to sour slightly, but she kept her bubbly façade going. I could tell she wanted something because she was never this nice. Father, however, seemed oblivious.

"No where." She answered, her sweetness dripping with poison, warning me of the trouble I would face with her if I pressed the issue.

It was a little known fact that the Roth glare had also passed to Tara. Sure, she never used it outside of the house, but when she and Rachel got into a row, the glare would come out in full force. Rachel was impressed the first time it happened, unaware that Tara possessed the malice to glare so. However, this didn't change the way she acted outside the house, all bubbly and stupid.

"What's this?" My father asked, perplexed, "It says Wellsley."

Seeing the large envelope protruding from the pile, I couldn't contain my glee. In a rare moment of joy, I shouted, "I got in? Oh MY GOSH I GOT IN!"

I immediately went to work, opening the large envelope. My reaction to getting in Wellsley was practically the only emotion I'd shown all day. I applied early decision, and after not hearing from them for quite a while, I assumed I had been rejected.

Reading their letter even made me happier. So happy, in fact, that I unconsciously rose from my seat and ran over to the other side of the room. I finally registered the looks of shock that decorated the faces of my father and sister. If they had noticed my lack of control, I had really showed too much emotion.

_Calm down_ I told myself. With that I laid on the couch, using my elbows to prop me up and look at the letter again.

"Uh… that's great honey," said my father unenthusiastically (which couldn't bring me down, since I was so elated), "isn't that across the country?"

"Thus the basis for its appeal" I replied monotonously.

"I thought we had decided that you'd stay here?" he asked meekly.

"No. You made that decision. I had no part in it." It was harsh, but true. I had just been accepted into my dream university, I didn't need my father raining on my parade just because my choice isn't the closest one to home.

"So are you going to just pick up and leave? Is that it?" my father asked, the hurt was evident in his voice.

Before I could help ease the shock, after all I didn't tell anyone I had applied, Tara cut in with, "Let's hope so."

"Dad, ask Tara what she did afterschool," and as soon as I said this, I could see her smile wane. Ha! _Mess with me and you will get burned! _I thought maliciously.

"Now Rachel, don't change the t-," then it hit him, and he turned to face Tina before asking "Who drove you home?"

"Now don't get upset daddy…," I could see her struggling to keep her cool, bubbly composure, "but there's this boy-" immediately I sat up. I couldn't let her get her way on this one, she'd make my life even more of a hell if she got a boyfriend! Especially since she was eyeing Roy Harper, who's personal mission was banging anything that walked and ruining my life simultaneously.

It was already bad enough dealing with him in my courses (yes, in a rather egregious oversight the school had put us in three of the same courses), I didn't need him invading my home too. My home was my place to relax from the insults flung at me at school.

"Who's a flaming asshole," I added, cutting her off. I didn't want him to side with her. Okay, so the way I was going about this was childish, like a typical sisterly argument based more on emotion than anything else, but still. My sanctuary was mine, emotion be damned.

Dad waved his hand at me, in a dismissive manner. _Fine then, I'll let her dig this hole on her own._

"He's really cute, and I think he might ask me-"

Now dad cut in with, "Please! I think I know exactly what he's going to ask you. And I think I know the answer. The answer is no."

Once again, thankfully, my dad's policies enhanced my life by ruining hers. He then gently took Tina by the shoulders.

"What are the two house rules?" asked dad, sternly.

She sighed. We were getting the lecture, only it never applied only to her. _As if I'm going to date! Yeah right. The two-long term relationships I had did not go over well. At least they were kept secret and no one knows, I can't imagine how much more difficult it would be if the student body knew that 'undateable' Roth has actually just had her heart broken._

"Number one," dad continued, "no dating until you graduate and two, no dating until you graduate".

At this, Tara opened her mouth to argue, "Ugh. This is so unfair". _This is working out beautifully_ I thought with a smirk. Her epithet of 'daddy' had even left, she was no longer the nice, charming girl she had been. In fact, she was looking rather distraught, a bonus for Rachel who, at home, was often the brunt of Tara's ceaseless attacks. At least with this rule, she was not to blame and she could still revel in the effects from the sidelines.

"No. Now this is for you. This morning I delivered a set of twins to a _fifteen_ year old girl. And do you know what she said to me?" asked my father dramatically, as if to make a point.

"I'm crack-whore who should've made my skeezy boyfriend wear a condom?" Tara asked sarcastically, almost doing me proud.

"Close, but no. She said, 'I should have listened to my father'," said dad with an affected voice.

"She did not!" cried Tara.

"Well she would have if she wasn't so delusional from all of the medications," and at this statement, Tara rolled her eyes.

Even I had to admit the story was a stretch and poorly constructed, but my father's rule was still unwavering so no lasting damage had been done.

"Can we please focus on me?" _(because this conversation hasn't been about you enough, right? ) _whined Tara, "I am the only girl in school who _isn't_ dating! Do you know how hard it is?! To like or be liked and _not _be able to go out on harmless dates because my family is insane!"

"No you're not the only single girl," retorted my father, "Your sister doesn't date."

For a brief instant I felt remotely bad at her outburst, I had the opportunity to date and, by choice, secluded myself and focussed on other pursuits. She never had the opportunity (I guess she wasn't clever enough to blackmail the guy into keeping their relationships quiet). Still, I'm saving her from a world of hurt, men are useless.

With this in mind, I stated monotonously, "And I don't intend to."

"Why is that, again?" asked my father, making me the example for my younger sophomore sister and making me feel, for once, like the perfect daughter of the family.

"Have you seen the idiots at our school?" I asked matter-of-factly.

"Where did you come from?" Tina asked, repulsed.

"As opposed to you?" I retorted, "You're just as foreign to me, believe me."

CLAP-CLAP! Came the loud noise from my father clapping his hands in an effort to get our attention.

"I've got a solution to this rule that will make everyone happy," said Dad, "Old rule out. New Rule. Tara can date."

At this, my mouth flew open. _What?_ Tara had a satisfied, almost evil smile on her face that I wanted to smack off. She was goading me and it was working. I really needed to get it together. Fortunately, my father did me justice with his next statement, "When she does," he said, pointing to me.

Now it was my sister's turn to be shocked.

"What?" Tara asked in astonishment.

"You can date when Rachel does," said my father, clearly stating the terms of the new rule again for my dumbfounded sister.

"But she's a demon! What if she never dates?" asked Tara, devastated.

"Then you'll never date. I like the sound of that. Then I can get to sleep at night and sleep well knowing my girls are safe," he stated, oblivious to the heartbroken look on Tara's face.

Then, Dad's pager started going off. I then rose and headed for the stairs, eager to make a quick exit to escape the barrage of comments I knew would come from Tara when he left.

"We'll talk about university later," Dad said to me.

"Fine," I said with a small smile. I had just won a victory over Tara and gotten accepted into my first choice college! The day was turning out quite nicely.

With that, my father took his leave to visit the clinic he worked at.

Then, addressing me as I was climbing the stairs, Tara whined, "Can't you find some blind, deaf retard to take you out to the movies for _one_ night so I can date?"

"Oh. I'm sorry, looks like you'll just have to miss out on the witty Roy Harper. You'll live."

"I hate you," she yelled in a high-pitched, frustrated voice. It was obvious that she was angry.

Ignoring her, I continued up the stairs. Surely she couldn't really hate me. Sure, as far as sisters went, we weren't very close. She was my opposite, we ran in different social circles and rarely said anything but insults to one another. But, she was my sister, and I would do anything for her. My actions were only really protecting her, especially from Roy. I don't trust him with Tara. He's the biggest player and he's probably only looking to get in her pants without a second thought as to how she felt.

_So why, then, did she say that? _I thought, despairing. It couldn't be true, could it? I know most kids as school hate me or fear me, however, as I mentioned, my home is my sanctuary. My father understands me, and my sister, although we often fought, seemed to understand me. We'd had several 'girl talks' over the years and many movie nights when we were not arguing. I didn't like how she acted at school, but I never addressed her about it, understanding that was the persona she wanted to create and project. And she understood the same about me. With this understanding, I thought, despite the cracks and the flaws, she was okay. I'm not sure how to process this new information. Am I okay with estranging my sister because I'm too cautious to go on another date? Should I just put my heart out there again so we can avoid this and she can be happy.

I sighed, all of this was giving me a headache and, despite the victory, I wished my father hadn't amended the rule. At least before, Tara's happiness and freedom didn't rely on me.

* * *

**Garfield's Plan**

Garfield Logan sat at one of the white tables in the large library. He had brought along his Algebra 2 book, which had recently purchased on and was now flipping through nervously. He wrote down many of the formulas on a sheet of notebook paper for quick reference, in case he needed it. He didn't want to look like he'd only had a week of almost non-stop math and, really, was also on shaky ground with this.

He had insisted that his father hire him an Algebra tutor. Thankfully, his parents were too busy crusading for the rights of animals to realize that he didn't actually take math class, he'd fulfilled his requirement last year. Garfield had found Greg to tutor him, a pint-sized genius that went to Jump High—much to Vic's dismay. Normally, being as loyal as a dog, Gar would've stuck up for Cy and yelled at Greg, but his options were few. Thankfully, Vic was understanding about it and they still hung out as though it had never happened. Though, through the tutoring session, Gar had managed to pass a juicy piece of gossip to Vic—evidently Greg had been caught shoplifting again and, since he had gotten in trouble with the law, he would soon be transferred to Jump High "off campus", the Jump High campus for troubled teens.

Despite his size, Greg was still threatening, Gar had to admit, because of his intelligence and his snide insults. Despite the constant stream of profane words that came out of his mouth, many that cursed Gar's stupidity, Gar was eternally grateful for the help. It had only been a laborious week of intensive study and ridicule, but he had managed to learn enough Algebra (hopefully) to tutor Tara (the girl of his dreams) for the time being. In other words, it was worth it.

Which explained why he was sitting in the library alone during his free period, waiting for her to show up. It was a stoke of luck that Gar had the same free period as her, a fact which made him extremely happy now that he'd get to see her everyday during this time.

Garfield, it should be known, hated reading of any kind and preferred to be with his friends playing the latest video games than sitting in the library. So yeah, him waiting in the library meant only one thing. He liked Tara. He liked her a whole lot. As he was thumbing through the pages recalling what Greg had taught him and deciding what to start with, Tara rushed in, throwing her red and white messenger bag on the table. She looked only slightly winded, but still beautiful in her red sweater and black flower patterned skirt. Her flushed face, although an indicator that she had ran to meet Gar, still looked beautiful on her. Gar could almost pretend that she was blushing at one of his smooth jokes.

Yes, he liked her enough to where he noticed pointless details about her that could be seen as borderline obsession. Like how her golden locks pulled back into a ponytail allowed him to see her gorgeous blue eyes.

"Hi. Can we make this quick? Garth and Courtney are having an incredibly horrendous public break-up. Again." she explained, upbeat. She lived for stories and gossip like this. Staying on top of these things was crucial to her popularity, after all.

Naturally, Gar was not expecting this reception from her. Incredibly flustered, he tried to come up with an answer that sounded smart and like he dealt with the popular crowd drama all the time.

"Uh, ok…. I thought that we'd um, start with chapter 3, your next unit, i-if that's alright with you?" he asked shyly. _Smooth, very smooth. Now she probably thinks I'm a loser, good going_ he thought to himself. So far, this was not living up to his expectations at all, as reality often doesn't. Still, it didn't keep him from feeling a bit crushed.

"Ugh, please. Spare me." She replied with an eyeroll for good measure.

Gar hadn't expected her to reject the idea and tried to improvise, coming up with new ideas as his previous plan was slowly falling to pieces. Deciding that he didn't have much more to lose as his reputation had just taken a severe dive, Gar decided he was going to do something brave.

"Well, uh, t-there is an alternative."

She instantly perked up.

"There is?" she asked, looking earnestly at Gar.

"Well, um, we could, uh, study and eat together, um… this weekend?" he asked, sneaking a glance at her to gauge her response. He was so nervous he felt like being struck by lightning rather than hear her answer, he was almost sure it was going to be rejection. He tried not to flinch and looked down as he waited for her reply.

"You're asking me out?" she asked hesitantly before adding, "That's so cute. What's your name again?"

He waited a beat before saying, "It's Garfield" in a slightly more hostile tone. How could she not know, did she really consider him so low in the school hierarchy that she hadn't bothered to learn the name of her own tutor?

He decided to recover the situation. Maybe it was a mistake, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. And an opportunity to say 'yes'. He was aware that he probably would sound desperate by giving her this 'opportunity', but honestly, what difference did it make if she didn't even know his name in the first place?

"L-listen, I know your dad doesn't let you date, but maybe if you told him it was for class that-"

"Oh wait a minute," she interrupted, "Gary-"

"Garfield," he corrected, not at all happy that he had to do so.

"My dad just came up with a new rule, I can date when my sister does," she said, sounding calm- much calmer than when she had been told this rule.

"You're kidding?" Garfield asked, his spirits once again rising. For one, she hadn't rejected him. And she had indicated that it was possible for them to date, with this new rule. Suddenly the tutoring session appeared to be getting better.

Excited, he began thinking of possible dates. "Let me ask, do you like sailing? Cuz I read about this place that rents out boats-" He was talking a mile a minute when Tara interrupted, pulling him back to the current conversation.

"We still have a big problem, Gar," she continued, finally getting his name right, "In case you haven't heard, my sister is a particularly heinous breed of demon."

Garfield shuddered at the memory of his brush with Rachel last week. But, if this was any indication, he was desperate to go out with her.

"Yea, I, uh noticed she's, uh, well a little…antisocial. Why is that?" He asked using polite words, he didn't want word getting around to Rachel that he had talked bad about her. Not that it was likely with the crowd she hung around with, but still he decided it was smart to be cautious. And although he was a (self-proclaimed) man, he was still terrified of Rachel, as was every sane member of the school.

Concern became etched in his features as he stared imploringly at Tara. Though it was not concern for her sister, Rachel but merely concern whether or not he could figure out a way to make his date happen.

"Unsolved mystery," Tara said quickly, shrugging, "She used to be really popular but then it was like... she got sick of it. I'm pretty sure she's just incapable of experiencing human emotion anymore."

She was obviously not close to her older sister, that much was evident. "Plus…she's a bitch." She added as an afterthought. Gar noted that this wasn't said with resent, but merely as a fact.

_If her own sister acknowledges this as a fact….oh shit….the plan is in some serious danger _thought Gar.

"W-well yeah. Uh I, um, I'm sure that there are lots of guys who wouldn't mind going out with a difficult woman-n," he faltered, knowing that Rachel was far beyond the simple category of "difficult." But he had to keep talking, sell Tara on the idea that Rachel dating wasn't nearly impossible, he could deal with the probability later.

"I-I mean people…jump out of a-airplanes and go skiing off cliffs, this could be like…like extreme dating, eh?" he said, trying to convince himself as much as her that this plan was indeed possible. Surely she couldn't be _that_bad, right?

Tara narrowed her eyes in a contemplative manner, chewing over Gar's words.

"You think you could find someone _that_ crazy?" she asked in pure disbelief. Her doubts only made Garfield more unsure, but he had to appear confident, to impress and assure her. He had to find someone, failure was no option.

"Yea, sure. Why not?" Gar asked quickly, trying to hide his nervousness.

Tara reached out and took ahold of Gar's arm that was resting on the table, before asking flirtatiously, "And you would do that? For me?"

Tara looked deep into his eyes and knew that she had him even before his answer.

She groaned inwardly, knowing she was a terrible person for using him, but what choice did she have? Who else would be so willing to set her sister up? _He might even succeed, who knows? He obviously likes me and he seems determined to help _she thought. She knew, however, that if he did succeed, it wouldn't be to him that she'd run. The first thing she'd do if Rachel found a date would be to call Roy Harper….And for that to be even remotely possible, she needed this kid.

"Heh…I-I could look into it," squeaked Gar, trying to contain his enthusiasm.

His enthusiasm and puppy-like demeanour made Tara feel another wave of guilt. He kept looking at her with those big, hopeful green eyes of his and was willing to jump at her command. She knew she was taking advantage of this, but it wasn't her fault that her father put her in this predicament. _Besides, I never told him that I would actuallygo out with him… _she took comfort in this fact and pushed away the guilt that clawed at her heart. Luckily the bell rang and she was able to grab her things and leave, banishing all thoughts of Gar from her mind.

Right after that period, Gar found Vic and told him of The Plan, begging for his help. The Plan was brilliant: find a date for Rachel to then go out with Tara. Cy, however, was quick to point out the snags of The Plan, the main one being that Rachel was cold. 'Colder than a blizzard in the Artic in the dead of winter', were his exact words. Gar was much more optimistic now, after Tara had gazed at him so intensely and sweetly asking "_And you would do that? For me?_", Gar knew he would find a way to make this work. If there were any justice in the world, he'd get his date. Gar knew that his love could overcome anything- at least he hoped it would.

Cy sighed, he knew this idea was hopeless but he decided to help anyway. He almost felt bad for Gar…He would've _actually_ felt bad if Gar had fallen for a nicer girl. _Oh well, I bet there's no talkin' Gar outta that one _he thought, looking at the hopelessly enamoured boy.

Cy worked all day trying to find the school's bravest and most macho men who boasted about doing crazy things. He hoped they would be willing to date Rachel, because if none of them did, well then he was just out of ideas. He had told them where to meet the next day, some remote shed near the soccer and football fields. In the morning he found Gar and lead him to the remote location. Despite it being early, Gar still looked put together in his typical jeans and forest green long sleeve shirt. _Grass stain's probably dressing up for her. Go figure _Cy thought, but decided to keep it to himself. He was sure pointing this out would irk his friend, despite the fact that it was fitting.

Cy himself looked as he always did, he wore a fitted black v-neck shirt that exposed his muscles and a pair of khakis. He explained the situation to Gar while leading him to the shed. He could see the hopeful look on his friend's face and could only pray that it all worked out.

"Now I have gathered a group of guys who couldn't be more perfect. Jump High's finest," Cy explained to Gar as they rounded the corner and entered the shed.

At this, Gar perked up considerably.

In the room there were 5 guys, all who were trying to look tough and nothing like what Gar was expecting. Standing closest to the door was a heavyset man dressed in jeans, an off-white shirt, and a long, brown jacket. He had light brown shaggy hair that tumbled to his shoulders, framing his round face. And noticeable sideburns. Not only that, but he wore large, dorky sunglasses (**A/N**: Totally picturing Control Freak). _Now that's so frightening _thought Gar sarcastically.

Sitting in a lawn chair was a man with long blonde hair and a dorky expression on his face. He wore a grey long sleeved shirt and beat-up jeans, decorated with many holes._Probably from skateboarding or something _mused Gar. He also wore flip-flops –_This is looking bad _thought Gar. At the back wall stood a guy with chocolate skin who was dressed in an orange shirt that was crammed with tribal patterns. The fourth guy was incredibly mousy looking, though on the whole looked pretty normal, and obviously shied away from the man at the back. He wore a black t-shirt and flannel pants with stripes; he looked like he had just rolled out of bed to show up to the meeting. Finally, the most normal looking guy of the bunch, had short brown hair with side-swept bangs that curled around his face. His eyes were also a deep brown. He wore black pants and a red wife beater and had a spare pair of sunglasses in his hands. _At least he may have some potential _thought Gar.

Then the interview process began.

"Hi. How're you doin?" greeted Gar tensely, he was still nervous. After all, they were Jump High's "finest."

Cy waved to them all. They then explained to the group that they would all each be asked a question. The others would wait outside the shed until each had answered the question before rotating. Yesterday, Cy had explained to Gar that this would be the best option. That way, if one was scared, he wouldn't convince the other brave men to change their minds about dating Rachel.

Gar sent the others away and began questioning the most normal looking man first.

"Would you be interested in dating Rachel Roth?" Gar asked the mousy guy, number 4, in a serious tone.

The guy started laughing. Not only that, but it was a crazy hysterical laugh that frightened both him and Cy. _Guess he isn't normal _thought Gar.

Gar then asked the guy in the red wife-beater, a guy by the name of Xander. He just looked a bit taken aback, "Not interested. She's hot, but I like my women willing."

Gar groaned, letting Xander out before calling in the couch potato with the wicked side burns. The guy nearly pissed his pants at the question, his response was a mixture of fear at the thought but also of awe at Rachel, the 'Mistress of Magic'. Apparently, he thought she was into the Dark Arts.

Gar then asked the last two guys. The tribal patterned suitor just gave him a blank stare, not responding to any of Gar's questions.

Gar then decided to ask the skater guy with the long blonde hair.

He smiled a dorky smile before saying, "Aw…man I've never been_ that_ ripped before…"

_Even if that guy decided he wanted to do something as "ripped" as asking Rachel out, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't consent to going out with someone as mentally challenged as him _contemplated Gar. Gar usually never thought of anyone as stupid, having some trouble in school himself, _but that guy really was an idiot_ he thought. Gar's hope waned considerably as he realised they were out of candidates. Gar thanked them for coming out and left for his next classes as depressed as ever.

He waited most of the day to see Cy again, it wasn't until AP Biology that Gar saw Cy (A/N: AP bio is open to both juniors and seniors, which is what Gar and Cy are). They only had that class together and lunch. And since Cy and Gar were in the same lab group, they had plenty of time to talk.

Usually Gar found bio interesting, especially since they were learning about animals lately. Except today they were dissecting frogs. This horrified Gar, as he was an avid vegetarian and loved animals of all kinds. He would've gladly asked for a make-up assignment, but that would mean not talking to Cy, which he needed to do in order to salvage The Plan. And Cy agreed to do all the dissecting. _Sorry guys, but I gotta do this…_thought Gar as he mentally apologized to the room full of frogs that were being desecrated in death.

"Did I or did I not tell you that it was pointless. No one will go out with her," explained Cy, trying to get the message across to his star-struck friend. But at that moment, behind Cy, Gar noticed a guy in a black shirt and black jeans at the other table. He skillfully twirled the fluid injector (A/N: I don't really know what it is but it basically looks like a giant syringe) before violently stabbed his frog needlessly with a sour expression on his face all the while.

This made Gar cringe, but he forced himself to look more at the guy. After all, this guy seemed like he could be the one to date Rachel. He had long, straight black hair that reached his shoulders and piercing blue eyes. The other guy at his lab table was also clad in all black. The other kid, however, had several ear piercings and a nose piercing. The guy with the piercings also wore a metal chain belt and heavy metal necklace and combat boots. He also had dyed some his short, spiky black hair bright red. While the guy with piercings looked terrifying, his counterpart looked more fearsome. The guy didn't need piercings to prove he was tough and he clearly was skilled at tearing things apart, if his poor frog was any indication.

Coming in to class late was one of the guys they had interviewed in the morning, the one with the red wife-beater. He took his place at their lab table, also looking bored and tough.

Gesturing to the one stabbing the frog with the instrument, Gar asked "What about him?"

Cy turned to look at the pair before quickly turning back to face Gar with a panicked expression.

"Him? No. Don-Don't look at him…okay?" His tone was serious and he kept his voice low.

"He's a-a criminal," Cy continued, but after noticing Gar's eyeroll, decided to provide evidence, "I-I heard he lit a state trooper on fire. He just did a year in San Quentin, one of the toughest jails out there."

Gar laughed, "Yea, well then, at least he's horny."

Cy, however, did not laugh. He gave Gar an obviously forced smile before saying, "Seriously man, he's a bundle of crazy, don't go there. "

Once again, Gar looked at him from around Cy's broad shoulder. The guy with long hair and blue eyes was using the flames meant to light the Bunsen burners to try and light a cigarette. He was practically laying on the table with a cigarette dangling from his mouth while trying to get it to light. The friend then reached over, and looking extremely annoyed, yanked the cigarette from his friend's mouth and put out the burning end by smashing it into the lab table. _It would be a funny sight if it were anyone but them _mused Gar.

"He's our guy," announced Gar in a whisper.

Gar was standing and smiling, looking at this kid. _He's perfect, he's definitely tough enough to handle Rachel _thought Gar gleefully. He knew it couldn't be impossible. But then, at that moment, the kid looked over at Gar with a glare. Instantly, Gar looked away and arched his back, pretending he was stretching nonchalantly. Even Cy tensed up and pretended to be doing something.

Richard began playing with the flame that he hadn't yet extinguished while looking- no, glaring- at the two dorks at the other table.

_What the hell are they up to? _thought Richard irritably. He didn't need to be disturbed by those two morons. The second they talked to him, his reputation would take a nose-dive as would the peace that comes with such a reputation. Upon deciding they weren't a threat and had no intention of speaking to him- yes they had been pretending to stretch and do work for about 2 minutes now- he turned to his friend Xander and was about to speak with him when his friend, G'nark (he was Norwegian) started up a conversation with his two lab partners (**A/N:**I know G'nark is not a Norwegian name, however, I'm thinking of the character from the TV series [albeit with piercings] and didn't know how else to justify his odd name).

"What's with them?" he asked, gesturing at the very two idiots Richard was trying to take his mind off of, "And why have they been staring at us for the past 10 minutes?"

At this, Xander chuckled, and began talking, "That kid, Vic, was rounding up people to come in early today, wanted to have a chat with us about something 'top secret'."

Richard's eyes widened in disbelief, "And you went, why?"

"I thought goodie-goodie Victor might have an interesting secret or two," he replied, "Sadly they were just trying to set us up with some chick in the senior class. The one who's frosty as hell."

Both Richard and G'nark looked confused, not quite understanding or believing the story.

Xander raised his hands defensively, and added monotonously, "Hey, it's true. They wanted a man tough enough to handle Roth."

"What'd you say?" asked Gnark.

"I told them the truth, that I like my women willing," replied Xander.

After a brief pause, Xander turned to Richard and said, "10 bucks says they try you next."

"Deal," said Richard.

They all shared a small laugh about the incident before continuing on with the work and cementing their afterschool plans. They were the only members left of the marital arts team, they had scared everyone else away and, since they had no one to teach, they often took the space given to them for sparring and just sat around, watching all of the other people train for the dumb sports around them. They would often have a smoke and chat a bit before getting a bite to eat. G'nark wouldn't be there, he had detention, but he and Xander agreed to meet at their usual spot, the disturbance caused by the two dweebs forgotten.

* * *

**Remember, if you have the time, drop a short review telling me if you prefer the story in first or third person! That way, I can change the other half of this chapter to either first or third and I can make the future chapters follow the same narrative form!**

**Thanks and I hope you all enjoy the edited story!**

**~RR**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Okay, so we're all caught up to the point I was at before. I'm working on the next chapter so hopefully there will be some more Richard/Rachel interaction now that the story has been set up. _**

**Enacting The Plan**

Later that day, Richard was at his workbench during shop, an elective class where the teacher almost never showed and he got the run of the class. Seeing as he was experienced at shop, while everyone else was busy making stupid boxes, Richard was trusted to pioneer his own advanced projects. Thankfully, shop was a small class, only about 5 kids, and all of their projects were individual ones, making the class a good time for him to get some time to himself during the day. Or it used to be.

Looking up, he saw the two idiots from biology wandering around the shop classroom. They looked incredibly lost, though they also appeared to be looking for something. Richard narrowed his eyes, based on their reactions from earlier, Richard deduced they were looking for him. He sighed, _why?_

Richard turned back to them, busying himself at his smoking workbench, hoping they would just leave. Sadly, a small part of him knew they wouldn't. Sure enough, within a matter of minutes, the short, skinny dork, _What was his name?, _approached Richard.

"Um, hey…" he began nervously. Richard was sure his confusion was evident on his face, however, he didn't let the kid keep talking. Instead, he began to drill into the textbook the kid was holding, drowning out his annoying voice.

The kid backed away saying, "okay, later then," and rejoined his other friend before quickly exiting the room.

_That ought to do it, hopefully they'll leave me alone now_ he thought, returning to his work.

After the shop class was over, Gar and Vic returned to the shop room and quickly grabbed Gar's Algebra 2 textbook so he would be able to tutor Tara. Well, so he had thought until he examined the hole the drill left behind. The hole in the very center and it, therefore, made the book completely un-useable.

"DUDE!" exclaimed Gar, gesturing to his mutilated textbook, registering the fact that he'd need to spend another 50 bucks on a new math textbook for his tutoring sessions.

"How do we get him to date Rachel?" asked Vic, furiously trying to think of ways to get Richard, the school's badass, to date the school's academic misanthrope. They didn't run in the same cliques and probably hadn't spoken before. Not to mention, even if they had, Rachel wasn't exactly…_approachable._

Victor frowned, lost in thought. Gar was also brainstorming a list of ideas, most of which Vic hadn't been paying attention to. But one idea sliced through his thoughts, catching his attention.

"We could pay him, but we don't have any money," commented Gar. And then it clicked for Vic.

"That's it, man! We just need a backer!" he exclaimed.

"What's that?" asked Gar, clearly not well versed in business terminology.

"Someone with money who spends recklessly," informed Vic. Vic scanned the cafeteria and instantly found the perfect backer: Roy Harper.

"Wait here," instructed Cy before heading off to Roy's table.

Upon arriving there, Vic found Roy and his mates playing poker, chatting about the school's female population. Vic wasn't too surprised, Roy, after all, had a reputation as _the _school's playboy. Vic pulled up a chair directly adjacent to Roy and began to talk about the business proposal. Well, okay not exactly.

"Is that a peach fruit roll-up?" Vic asked, making a grab for the food item, "Because you don't see many-," Vic was cut off as his Roy's crony grabbed a Vic's arm. Vic was sure that if it came down to it, he could hand this kid's ass to him on a platter, however, he guessed this would not be the best way to approach Roy. Vic had to approach Roy in the right way, the situation was too delicate to mess it up. Based on what Vic knew about Roy (which was 1. He was popular and 2. He was a model) he correctly assumed that flattery was the best route.

"Okay," replied Vic, withdrawing his arm.

"Are you lost?" asked Roy. He was genuinely confused as to why Vic was bothering him during lunch.

"Um, no…actually, I just came by to chat," began Vic.

"We. Don't. Chat," snapped Roy.

Knowing he was running out of time, Vic pressed on, "I know you want Tara. And we have plan to make that happen, if you're interested."

Instead, Roy replied, "I'm not."

_Damn, I was counting on the man to be just a little bit curious _thought Vic, hoping he could salvage this for his friend. This really was their last option.

"Well, hear me out, man," pleaded Vic, "Well you Tara, right? And she can't go out with because her sister's this insane uptight demon and no one will go out with her."

"Does this chat have a point?" interrupted Roy, sounding bored.

"What I think you need to do is hire a guy who'll go out with her. Someone who won't be scared by Roth's…_abrasive _personality. Someone like…_him," _finished Vic, gesturing to Richard.

"That guy?" he asked, his cool composure slipping into uneasiness, "I heard he ate a live duck once."

"Everything but the beak and feet," corrected Vic, "Clearly, he's worth considering. Someone that crazy is a good investment to make."

Roy then casted a suspicious glance at Vic, "What's in it for you?"

"Recognition. If I greet you, you greet me back," replied Vic, concealing his actual motives for the arrangement.

"Yea, I get it, you're cool by talking to me," snapped Roy, clearly aware of the social structure of the high school. After a pause he added, much to Vic's delight, "I'll think about it."

Vic smiled, knowing he had the deal in the bag.

It was common knowledge that Roy hated losing, especially when it was a public matter. Plus, to Roy, the opportunity to boast getting Tara on a date would solidify his claim to popularity and heart-throbdom.

"We're done here," informed Roy, pulling Vic from his straying thoughts. His tone of voice clearly indicated that Vic had overstayed his welcome.

Meanwhile, Gar felt nauseated watching all of this. All Vic had told him was to stay put before zipping off to Roy's table, brining that douchebag into this already complex plan. Gar couldn't wait until Vic came back so that he could talk to his friend. He trusted Vic, but that trust didn't extend to Roy. Not at all.

"What are you doing getting him involved?" Asked Gar, angry that Roy was now brought into the chase after Tara.

"Relax. Look we let him pretend he's calling the shots while he's busy setting things up, you'll have time with Tara," explained Vic.

Gar mulled this over for a moment before conceding that it was, in fact, a foolproof plan. Gar opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to come up with a flaw to the plan, however, each time, he was forced to concede that the plan was flawless. He beamed, "Such a good plan, dude!"

* * *

Afterschool that day, several sports were having practices and several after school activities were being held. Since it was Wednesday, almost every club in the school had a meeting, which accounted for why Rachel, Roy, and Richard were all within the same vicinity—a fact that rarely happened.

The golf team, lead this year by Greg, practiced atop the large hill, hitting their golf balls down the hill to where the Freshman ball-boy would catch them in a basket.

The soccer team, of which Rachel was a part, practiced on the football field. The archery club, who was lead by none other than Roy Harper, also practiced on the football field, however, they were far off to the other side. Finally, Richard and Xander's karate club met outside on the fields in any random corner that no one was using. Of course, they were the club's only members since everyone quit when they joined and kicked everyone's asses. They now basically spent the club time doing nothing but sitting on the school benches and smoking.

After the archery club's warm-up jog, Roy quickly headed over to where Richard was seated on one of the benches. Normally, nothing fazed Roy. He was the most popular kid in the school and could get whatever he wanted by manipulating people in the right way. However, Richard was an unknown quantity. He seemed not to abide by the schools rules and was very much a loner. Roy figured they best way to deal with him would be to pretend not to be afraid of him, however that was easier said than done. It was rumored that Richard was barely sane, and considering all of the rumors about this kid, Roy didn't want to be there when Richard snapped.

So naturally, Roy brought one of his friends for back-up. And he intended to make the meeting quick. After all, Richard would have no reason not to comply with the plan. He would be paid _and _he'd get a date. And Roy had to admit that when Rachel wasn't being abrasive, she was hot. So it was a win-win for Richard, really. He just hoped Richard would have the sense to see it that way too.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Roy upon reaching Richard. Richard shot Roy a look that said '_why the hell are you bothering me?' _so Roy nervously added, "I had some great duck last night." Richard continued to give Roy a bewildered look while taking a few hits from his cigarette. Okay, so Roy couldn't exactly see the looks he was getting from Richard since his eyes were obscured by the trademark sunglasses he wore, but Roy could just _tell._

"Do I know you?" Richard finally asked.

Roy sighed and decided that he'd begin with the situation. After all, he only had so much time to captivate Richard and he knew introducing himself wasn't the way to do it.

"See that girl over there?" asked Roy, gesturing toward a girl with black hair streaked with violet. The girl was of course, Rachel.

"Yeah," replied Richard.

"That's Rachel Roth. I want you to go out with her," informed Roy.

"Yea sure, Ginger," replied Richard, sharing a laugh with his friend Xander.

Roy huffed an annoyed sigh, "Look, I can't take out her sister until she starts dating. You see, their dad's a total control freak. He'd got t-this rule, that-," Roy stopped, interrupted by Richard's statement, "That's a great story. Moving. Good luck figuring that out."

Richard then turned to his friend Xander, sharing a laugh, signaling the end of the conversation. _Why is everybody suddenly bothering me to take out this chick? _He wondered, recalling the other two dopes that had approached him earlier that day.

"Would you be willing to make it your problem if I provide generous compensation?" asked Roy, receiving what he perceived was another 'what the hell' look from Richard. _At least I managed to get his attention back _thought Roy, _I guess money is always the answer._

Richard gave a small laugh, "You're going to pay me to take out some chick?"

"Mm-hmm," Roy replied in an octave higher than normal. This was it, the moment that determined everything. If Richard said no, Roy was sure he'd never get to take out Tara. And he needed to make good on his careless promise to his friends to keep his reputation.

"How much?" asked Richard. Roy quietly released a breath that he didn't realize that he'd been holding.

"Forty bucks," mentioned Roy. They both turned their gazes to Rachel, who was now in a fistfight with another girl on the soccer team. "Fine, fifty," amended Roy, knowing that fifty bucks was actually getting off easily. Unfortunately, Richard seemed aware of that too.

"Well, let's think about this. Let's say we go to the movies. The tickets are, what, ten bucks each? And she'll want snacks, so let's say that's thirty bucks? So when it's all said and done I'll be left with nothing for myself," Richard reasoned, " I want a hundred bucks a date."

"Sixty-five, take it or leave it trailer trash," snapped Roy. Now that he knew Richard would do it, that he too could be bought, he didn't feel nearly as nervous. He was in his element now. And this deal gave him some power over Richard, Richard would now be indebted to him—he'd be forced to continue their deal to see any scrap of money.

"Seventy-five and we've got a deal, Fabio," replied Richard in the same icy tone.

Roy nodded and took the money out of his expensive leather wallet, handing it to Richard. Roy then left, leaving Richard to wonder what he just got himself into. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to wonder as Xander's next comment was, "What the hell, man?"

He shrugged, "I could use some extra cash."

After a pause, and seeing the sulking figure of his friend, he asked, "You jealous?"

Xander glared at his friend, "How come I never got offered any compensation?"

Richard chuckled at his friend's uncharacteristically disappointed attitude before noticing that the girls on the soccer team were gathering their things, ready to leave. Calling out a quick good bye to his friend, he casually walked across the field to where the girls were packing up.

Richard decided to take the opportunity to ask Rachel out. He was in her English class and knew she was a bit abrasive, but he hoped that was reserved for Roy.

Turns out, she was just abrasive.

"Hey there," said Richard, walking over to where Rachel was with her bag of athletic equipment, "How're you doing?"

"Sweating like a pig, actually. And a bit pissed off. And yourself?" she replied before taking a big gulp of water from her water bottle.

"Now there's a way to get a guy's attention, huh?" commented Richard with a small chuckle.

"Well, I clearly got your attention, so I guess the world makes sense now," she commented sarcastically.

"Like my attention, do you?" he asked cockily, hoping for a laugh. Instead she scoffed, "Not particularly."

She then grabbed her black athletic bag and walked off. Richard nearly groaned, not expecting it to be this difficult. He was now beginning to understand why Roy was shelling out so much money for each date. However, now that he had Roy's money, he was obligated to get at least one date out of her, so he followed. "So, pick you up on Friday then?" he asked.

Rachel quickly glanced at the cocky guy from her English class, actually taking in his appearance for the first time. He was tall and had shiny, ebony hair that came to his shoulders and was dressed in dark jeans and a black wife-beater. This offered a great view of his lean muscles, but Rachel quickly put that thought out of her mind and replaced it with the more analytical, and appropriate, _why is he asking_ me_ out?_

It was no secret that she _didn't_ like people and she _didn't_ go out on dates. She found both a waste of her time. And despite Richard's aloofness, she assumed he knew as much about her as everyone else, at least about the fact that she didn't date (he was in her English class, after all, and saw her interactions with the male population of the school there—which is to say how she didn't interact with any guys apart from ripping into Roy).

So why would he bother asking her out? It didn't make sense. It wasn't like they had ever actually had a conversation, so he couldn't like her based on merits. Which left he wanted to date her because he found her attractive or because he was trying to prove something. Rachel could also eliminate attractive from the list because, well, she wasn't really that pretty. Especially since there were prettier people at her school who were much more approachable. So he was trying to prove something. And Rachel didn't like being used as an example.

"I have plans. On Friday and for the rest of my life. And they don't involve you," she bristled, hoping he would take the hint.

"Why not? I'll take you places you've never been before," said Richard in a low voice. Rachel refused to dwell on the fact that he sounded kind of sexy when he used that tone and brushed it off. It had to be the afternoon heat. Or fatigue from practice. Either way, her normal, sane self would never agree with that assessment.

Knowing her decision making skills were being compromised, she concluded that a quick escape was needed.

"Like where? The seven-eleven? Do you even know my name, screwboy?" she sneered.

"I know a lot more than you think," he replied.

"I doubt it," said Rachel as she picked up her walking pace and left Richard standing there.

Richard was definitely wondering why he ever agreed to do this. Sure she was hot as hell, but she really was difficult. He'd never been met with so much resistance before. Sure there were some girls who tried to make the asking out process difficult, but a few flirtatious comments were usually all he needed. To say he was a bit mystified was an understatement. He wasn't sure how he'd ever pull this off.

Gar and Vic stayed after school and were seated in the bleachers, watching their operation unfold.

"See, they're talking, this is going to work out just fine," reassured Vic for what felt like the millionth time.

Just then, however, Rachel practically stormed off leaving Richard standing there, looking rather confused. "Or not," added Vic under his breath.

"We're screwed," groaned Gar.

"Hey, no, I don't want to hear that defeatist attitude," said Vic, "I want to hear you upbeat."

"We're screwed," repeated Gar, this time in a happier tone of voice.

"There you go," replied Vic with a nod. Just then, a stray golf ball hit the soccer coach in the head, knocking him to the ground and sending the golf team into a running frenzy. Normally, Gar would've laughed at the sight of them, however, with the recent turn of events, he just felt defeated. Again. Richard was the perfect guy for Rachel and if he couldn't pull this off then nobody else could.

* * *

**Let me know what you think of the story so far!**

**~RR**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Here it is, the newest instalment to 10 Things I Hate About You! ****I'm straying a bit from the film in this chapter, but hopefully it still fits well with the story...**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**The Party**

Rachel frowned as her sister entered her room without even knocking. Her room was white with a dark purple wall where her bed was and a lavender wall adjoining it. Her room was sparsely decorated with a towering bookshelf as the main feature. Her bed was a large circle with a circular headboard supported by her dark purple wall. Her desk was across from the bookshelf, to the right of the bed. Her laptop sat atop her desk as she was about to get up to write. But, when Tara burst in, she was on her bed meditating.

Cautiously, Tara sat on the soft black sheets of the bed, near her sister. Her only response was to open one eye and look at her sister, enough of a response to let Tara know that she was, in fact, paying attention but that she was not happy about having to do so.

After a brief moment, when Tara said nothing, Rachel snapped a curt, "What?"

"You know, you could have so much potential buried under these dark layers," she commented, "I bet Kori could give you an excellent make-over. People wouldn't know what to think."

Rachel sighed, it had been like this for the past few days since the rule change. Tara had decided a change of tactic was necessary so she had tried 'being nice'. She would try to goad Rachel into wearing something beautiful, like one of her sundresses, or offer Kori to give her a make-over. Rachel knew that it must be difficult for Tara but she couldn't help but be bothered by these requests.

"No, Tara. I don't care what people think, remember? And I'm not changing myself so I can get a guy. Believe it or not, but I don't care," she replied sternly, hoping to put an end to the discussion.

"Everyone cares a little about what others think," she commented meekly.

"I don't. You know, you don't have to be who they want you to be, either," she offered.

"I happen to like being adored," she commented, "you should try being nice as well. It's nice being liked."

Rachel snorted, "Thanks for the advice."

Closing her eyes, she eventually heard a rustle as her sister departed. She let out a thankful sigh and fell back onto her bed, thinking about it all. She was glad that Tara didn't pay attention to what she did in school, otherwise, she would have been extra persistent after hearing about Richard.

_Richard..._

Ugh, she groaned. Why was he making her life more complicated? She had a feeling that the display at soccer this afternoon was only the beginning. After mulling it over, she smiled to herself. She was incredibly stubborn, there was no way he would continue to ask her out after a few humiliating rejections. _There's nothing to be worried about, he's only a minor disturbance that will eventually go away _she thought to herself, glad that her meditations had come in handy yet again._  
_

* * *

The next day, Rachel nearly jumped when, upon slamming her small, blue locker closed, she saw Richard leaning there. Today he wore an ensemble of lose black jeans, a black wife-beater and a dark blue button-up shirt over it. Of course, the shirt was completely unbuttoned, but Rachel got the feeling this was the most dressed up he'd ever gotten for school.

Quickly regaining her composure, she asked icily, "What do you want?"

"Go out with me?" he asked, his tone unwavering in her chilly presence.

"No. Go away," she replied, firmly, hoping to see his retreating figure. Instead, he put his forearm on the lockers above her head and, unfortunately he was about a foot taller than her, and brought his face near hers. He almost smiled at the way she tensed up at the unusual proximity.

He narrowed his eyes and darkly stated, "You know, I'm not going to stop asking until you say yes, right?"

Still very stiff looking, she all but snarled, "And, you know, I'm not going to say yes."

"So it seems we are at an impasse," he replied.

"Fine," she huffed, "You can ask me out as long and as often as you like, the answer will still be no and you'll just look like a fool. Be my guest."

With that, she ducked out of the area he had trapped her in for the conversation, disappearing among the other students in the hall.

* * *

Sitting in her AP Chemistry class, Rachel mused _what the hell was that about?_

She was happy for the fact that she shared the class with her best friend, Jinx. A good part of her desperately wanted to talk this situation over with Jinx, however, that would be admitting that we was, in fact, getting to her. And it had only been two days.

No, she would not acknowledge that anything had changed. Pursing her lips, she looked down at her desk with determination. She was wrapped up in her thoughts when she saw a piece of paper flutter on to her desk.

It was pink and folded into a simple origami frog. Rachel looked up at her friend, who today wore a long, floor length black and pink dress with a jean jacket. Carefully opening the small piece of paper, Rachel nearly cringed at what was written on it. Part of her was tempted to not answer, however, that would make Jinx suspicious. And when she was on to something, she would push until she had answers. Answers that Rachel wasn't sure she even had.

Looking back at the note, which read _Saw you chatting to Grayson, what's going on with you guys? _she contemplated how to go about answering it. She could just call him crazy or warn Jinx not to push the issue, however, part of her wanted a person on the inside who knew what was going on. Plus, this gave her the out her pride needed-she was, after all, only telling Jinx because her friend was curious. It had nothing to do with the fact that she needed someone to talk to.

Sighing, she hastily scribbled _The dork asked me out on a date. _After a moment, she decided to add _Twice. _on to the end of her message. Crumpling the paper into a ball, she quickly threw it at her friend when the teacher was writing on the whiteboard.

Looking at Jinx's face as she read the note, Rachel could see the surprise as her eyes widened. She looked up and mouthed 'Really?' at Rachel. Rachel just shrugged in response, as if to say she was in the same boat of surprise.

The rest of the day passed by without incident. At the end of the school day, Rachel decided that a trip to the local dvd store was in order. Now it wasn't common knowledge, however, Rachel couldn't deal with horror films. They gave her nightmares. Especially when a film claimed to be 'based on a true story' because it meant that someone that crazy had once existed and could still be out there. No, she much preferred to not scaring the shit out of herself. So, instead, she was a big foreign film fan.

Grabbing the well-known Korean classic, 'Old Boy', she headed to the counter to rent the film. It wasn't until she was outside that she saw Richard making his way toward her. She was suddenly glad that she grabbed her oversized grey sweater and had put it on after school.

"Are you following me?" she asked, unable to keep her voice from showing her distress. The last thing she needed was a stalker.

He held his hands up defensively, "I was in the convenience store across the street and I saw your car and decided to come over and say hello."

She released a breath she didn't know she had been holding before replying in her usual monotone, "Oh. Hi."

She then pulled the hood of her sweater over her face, hiding almost everything but her piercing eyes.

Leaning against her car doors to prevent her from getting in just yet, he remarked, "You're not a big talker, are you?"

As if to prove his point, she just raised her brow at him. After a moment she added, "It depends on the topic. A quick hello doesn't, in fact, whip me into a verbal frenzy."

_Damn, this is so much more difficult that I would have thought_ mused Richard, deciding to change tactics.

"You know," he mused aloud, "people who don't talk much just live in their heads."

"And?" she asked, and after hearing his response, immediately regretted asking the question.

"And so, I bet you've thought about me naked," he commented, using his sexy-sultry voice he'd used when he tried to pick her up at soccer practice.

Rachel was grateful for the hood, she did not do well talking about these topics. She was fairly inexperienced, that much she knew. And, despite not having thought about it, she could feel a blush crawling up her cheeks, making her look guilty.

She gave a fake gasp, "Am I that transparent?" She then added an eye roll for good measure.

Not wanting to have to dig herself out of another awkward situation, she, using her hips, knocked Grayson out of the way enough for her to pull her door open. She was of a petite stature, and therefore, was able to squeeze into the driver's seat without much difficulty.

At that point, Roy Harper had been driving by and saw the unmistakeable beat up red and white car that belonged to the menace. Grinning, he parked his car in the middle of the street, blocking her from leaving her parking space. He could hear her yell "Do you mind?" over his blaring music as he jumped out of his convertible.

Turning to her with a wink, he replied, "Not at all."

Rachel huffed in annoyance, today was not going as planned. Narrowing her eyes dangerously and grinning wickedly, Rachel decided to do the one thing Roy had banked on her _not _doing. Revving up her car engine, she backed straight into his car. When she pulled forward to reposition her car, she noticed the large dent in the side of his driver's seat door.

"YOU BITCH!" Roy screamed, rushing over to his car to inspect the damage.

Seeing Richard laughing quite hard, she felt her spirits rise, enjoying the scene before her. She chuckled a bit before saying 'Whoops', trying to feign remorse, an antic that made Richard laugh further.

* * *

Had she known how much trouble ramming into Roy's car would've caused later, she might have rethought it.

Her father towered over her as she tried to read. He said in a distraught voice, "'Whoops'?! My insurance doesn't cover PMS!"

After a moment, she shrugged, "Tell them I had a seizure."

After a moment, he asked, "Are you punishing me because I want you to go to a university close to home?"

For the first time in the conversation, Rachel looked up at her father. His hair was graying but still covered most of his head. He was a bit pudgy, not too fat or slim. His plum coloured button up shirt made him look like the professional he was, but, Rachel couldn't help but notice a sliver of sadness in his demeanour.

"Does what I want not matter?" she retorted.

"You're 18, you don't know what you want. And you won't know what you want until you're 45. And, even if you get it, you'll be too old to use it."

She rolled her eyes, "I want to go to an East Coast school and I want you to trust me to live my life and make my own decisions!"

By the end of her comment she was standing and her voice had risen to a near yell.

"You know what I want?" her father began, but was, as many times before, cut off by his company's pager alerting him to come into the clinic.

"We'll talk about this later," he called, rushing to his room to gather his things.

She just closed her door in response.

About two minutes later, her sister rushed in (again not bothering to knock), shrieking "Did you maim Roy's car?"

Her cell phone was in her had and her distraught sister had clearly just heard the news.

"Yeah, looks like you'll have to ride in one of his older cars when you want a ride home," she drawled.

"YOU'RE INSANE!" Tara screamed, rushing back out of the room wondering how she and her sister were related. If her sister ever had a chance at dating anyone, that chance was long gone. No one wanted to go out with a girl who had no qualms about destroying a guy's things. She groaned, _no one is extreme enough to date her! _She felt like crying, why couldn't her family just be _normal_?

* * *

Richard walked over to his locker, seeing Roy waiting there for him. He had his hair slicked back as usual and wore a dark blue polo and jeans. His stance made him look incredibly arrogant, almost as he felt like he could control Richard. At this realisation, Richard growled. He didn't like the idea that he could be manipulated. Noting Roy's unhappy expression, he sighed _what now?_

"When I shell out money, I expect results. Watching that bitch run into my car doesn't count as a date," he snapped.

"I'm on it," Richard replied irritably.

"Good. Just think about it this way," Roy said smoothly, "If you don't get any, then I don't get any. So get some."

He began to walk away when Richard called out, "I've just upped my price."

Richard wasn't sure why he did it, but Roy's slimy comment made him crawl. Plus, Rachel was on to something, annoying Roy wasn't difficult and was entertaining.

"What?!" shrieked Roy, returning to Richard, who was now leaning against the lockers coolly.

"A hundred and twenty-five bucks a date," said Richard with a smile.

"Are you out of your mind?" Roy asked in disbelief.

Richard shrugged, "I don't see any other takers for your little deal."

"Forget it," huffed Roy, turning to leave.

"Then you can forget her sister," he informed, satisfied when Roy stopped in his tracks at the comment.

"You better hope you're as smooth as you think you are," commented Roy, disgruntled.

He then handed Richard the difference he now owed before stalking off angrily. Part of him wanted to see Richard fail and fall on his ass, something that, in Roy's opinion, Richard could do with. He was way too cocky for his own good. He knew Rachel, she was a different tier of human and Richard's arrogance would be his undoing. _If I don't get Tara, I can at least humiliate Richard with his little failure. I could make him pay me back in front of the whole school and we can see how many women he gets with after that_ he thought smiled in satisfaction, either way the chips fell, he would come out on top.

* * *

Richard looked up to see the two dorks come into his shop class yet again. He groaned, the point of his reputation was to keep people from bothering him. Why had he signed up for this? If only he'd have known that the hundred and twenty-five bucks came at the price of his peace, he might have reconsidered.

Richard had to fight back a laugh at the pair, one was fairly short (for a guy, anyway) and scrawny while his friend was all muscle and a football player. It was even funnier since he could overhear their little conversation before approaching him.

"Go," whispered Gar when he noticed they were both standing side-by-side, not moving ahead.

"You go," retorted Cy, also in a whisper.

"You go first, I went last time," mumbled Gar.

"No way, man. It's not my girlfriend," he retorted, pushing Gar ahead of him.

A last "No fair" could be heard from Gar, before he descended on Richard's workspace.

"Um, we know what you're trying to do and we're here to help," offered Gar.

"What?" asked Richard, confused beyond belief. He noted that this was a feeling he had been experiencing often as of late.

"With Rachel," offered Gar.

"Oh yeah, why are you guys going to help?"

"You see," explained Cy, "We set this whole thing up so Gar can get the girl. Roy is just paying you and, while he's busy with that, Gar's going to spend time with Tara and ask her out."

"I see," commented Richard, "So what's so special about this Tara chick?"

"Hey!" snapped Gar, almost lunging at Richard, "She's not a chick."

Richard was amused that this skinny green bean would lunge at him when he was heating up a long metal rod on open flame. It didn't seem to make a lot of sense-_and people call me crazy _mused Richard.

Richard shrugged, responding nonchalantly with, "Whatever. I'm just in this for the money. Roy can plow whoever he wants."

"There will be no plowing!" snapped Gar, in a louder tone of voice.

Vic pushed his friend away with an, "Ignore him. We're going to help you get all the information you need on Roth."

"So you two are going to help me tame the wild beast?" asked Richard with a relieved smile.

He knew he should have beat them up for coming near him, however, as much as he hated to admit it, he needed help on how to woo Rachel. So far, he was getting nowhere. Some inside information, however they planned on risking their necks to get it, would be immensely helpful.

Perking up considerably, Vic replied with a smile, "Yeah, man. We'll do some research and find out what she likes. Just leave it to us, we're your guys."

"And he means that in a strictly non-prison type of movie way," clarified Gar, still clearly fearful of Richard despite their new alliance.

Vic then handed a blinding yellow flyer to Richard, pulling him away from Gar's stupid antics for a second time.

"There's a party at Greg's on Friday. Invite Rachel. It's a good, low-key first date. It's the perfect opportunity, man."

Richard just nodded, expecting Vic to add a corny 'we'll be in touch' or another stupid conversation closer that referenced their 'secret mission'. Thankfully, Vic had enough tact to just leave, dragging his scrawny friend out of the room with him.

* * *

"Dude, I thought Greg's party was only for the MBA society?" squeaked Gar, stopping at one of the landings between staircases to look at his friend.

Vic grinned evilly. Deciding that Gar meant no harm and was, in fact, trustworthy, Vic decided to let him in on the secret.

"I'm getting my revenge. I've altered the posters," he mentioned, showing Gar the blinding yellow posters that read 'FREE BEER', "And given Richard a low-key event to take Rachel to, to start off slow."

"Watch and learn," said Vic before tossing the flyers down the stairwell. Papers drifted everywhere, some on the stairs, many fell to the ground floor. People bent down curiously to pick up the fallen flyers and, by lunchtime, Gar was amazed to find out that many of the students had heard of the party and were planning on attending. He hoped that included Tara.

"Do you think Rachel will go?" Gar asked his friend over lunch.

"I don't know man, but I thought this might be better than dinner and a movie or something," explained Vic, "Starting with that right off the bat seems like a good way to scare her away."

Gar nodded, impressed with Vic's planning, "Let's hope it works."

Vic nodded in agreement.

They looked up to see Tara sitting at her lunch table, looking happier than she had in a long time. Cautiously, Gar gave her a small wave and was elated when she waved back.

Unbeknownst to them, however, Tara had been talking to Kori, Courtney and Karen about her recent encounter with Roy.

"He asked me to choose between two of his polaroids for a shoot application," shrieked Tara, "He said he trusts me!"

"Is that a direct quote?" asked Courtney, her green eyes widening in awe while plaiting her long, chestnut tresses.

It was the only way she ever really wore her hair since it was incredibly long and difficult to tame otherwise.

"Uh-huh, but that's not all!" she continued.

"There is more, friend?" asked Courtney's sister, Kori. Her jaw had dropped open and she was waiting for the rest of the story.

"He asked if I was going to Greg's party. When I said 'I think so' he told me, and this is a direct quote, 'Good, because I'm not going to bother going if you're not going to be there'," she squealed.

"No way!" replied Karen, "Damn, I can't believe it!"

"I know, our friend is about to have a friend that is a boy!" chirped Kori.

Tara blushed, feeling elated and pleased with herself. Now she had to make sure that Gar found a date for her sister so she could go. She couldn't blow off Roy forever.

"Friend, do you know what you will clothe yourself with for this occasion?" asked Kori.

It wasn't something she had given much thought to, but clearly for a party of this...well magnitude...called for more than her usual clothes. Normally, like today, Tara went for cute fashions that complemented her natural beauty, but made sure not to cross the line into risque. Tonight, however, might be the time to up her sexiness level, after all, everyday she proved she could do cute. She needed to have variety.

"No," she groaned, "But I don't think I have anything that says 'wow', you know?"

"We feel ya," replied Karen, "Trip to the mall after school tomorrow?"

Tara grinned, with her friends she would be ready come Friday. "Hell yes," she responded, feeling grateful for her close relationship with her friends.

She was also grateful they hadn't asked to do anything after school today. She had, in fact, agreed to spend time with Gar. During their tutoring session he'd looked so hopeful and, since he was doing an immense favour for her, she thought it wouldn't kill her to spend some time with him. Secretly, of course. She wasn't stupid, she wouldn't risk her reputation for him. Still, it helped that she didn't have to come up with a lie to her friends._  
_

* * *

**What did you all think? Please drop a review if you get the chance! In your reviews if you have ideas for Richard and Rachel's first real date (after the party) let me know! I'm not sure what I want them to do, but I want it to be unique (and maybe fluffy?)...If I pick your date idea, I'll dedicate the next chapter to you!**

**~RR**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi all! So first, a big thank-you to Smiles-X-Giggles for plot ideas! They really helped me in writing this chapter! Because of that, this chapter is dedicated to you, ****Smiles-X-Giggles**! :)

**Hope you all enjoy!**

Last Chapter:

Tara grinned, with her friends she would be ready come Friday. "Hell yes," she responded, feeling grateful for her close relationship with her friends.

She was also grateful they hadn't asked to do anything after school today. She had, in fact, agreed to spend time with Gar. During their tutoring session he'd looked so hopeful and, since he was doing an immense favour for her, she thought it wouldn't kill her to spend some time with him. Secretly, of course. She wasn't stupid, she wouldn't risk her reputation for him. Still, it helped that she didn't have to come up with a lie to her friends.

* * *

**Not So Bad**

Tara and Gar walked along the small stretch of sand that largely went unused except for the occasional late-night party. Gar had explained that Tara probably wouldn't want to be at his house. Apparently, his parents were biologists and kept several types of animals at their home-almost like a micro zoo. Gar, correctly guessing that Tara was not a fan of snakes, rats, tarantulas and the like, had recommended they hang out somewhere public-explaining why Tara was out there risking her reputation. Thankfully, the beach was (as she had hoped) currently unoccupied.

Tara was glad to get away from the pressures of her image. She was aware it was her choice to actively remain popular but it could get really annoying sometimes. Especially when a love-sick puppy was chasing her everywhere threatening to topple everything she'd built for herself.

To make matters worse, he was actually a nice guy. He was hell-bent on helping her and informed her of the set-up that he and his friend, Victor, had arranged. Evidently, they found someone willing to date her sister. He was doing his best but, as per usual, nothing was going her way. Gar had told her that, in order for this to have a chance, that she needed to give information on Rachel. Like a Spy.

It was because of that comment that this awkward silence fell upon them. Tara knew that her sister could be difficult (which really made her life difficult) but she still loved her sister. They were family and it felt wrong to go digging for aspects of her personality that she wanted to keep away from others. Furthermore, no longer being close to Rachel, Tara knew the only way to find answers was to go snooping through her sister's things-something she knew Rachel hated. Hell, it was something she would hate too.

"You don't have to, you know," muttered Gar, breaking the silence, "Maybe we can think of something else."

She smiled at him-he really was the sweetest guy she'd ever met. _I know this is wrong and if she ever finds out that she'll kill me...but can I really pass up this opportunity?_ she wondered.

"Dude," squeaked Gar after a moment of thought, "This may not be entirely selfish, you know. Maybe Rachel will be happy with him. She doesn't exactly have to find out all the details of how they got together."

"That...," began Tara, "Is a really good point. Maybe she would actually be happy with him...and, like, maybe they'd have a really good connexion if she gave him the chance."

Gar nodded, "We're just providing the opportunity."

Guilt still clawed away at her, however. _A connexion based on a foundation of lies_ she thought.

Still, the hopeful way Gar was looking at her coupled with the expectations of her friends and the prospect of creating a good thing for her sister prompted her to say, "All right. I'll go through her room and compile a list of things that seem useful. I'll get it to you tomorrow in our free period."

Elated, Gar grinned. Yet he was also consumed by guilt. He suspected that, despite their rocky relationship, Tara would want to protect her sister. Because of this and because he was dying to go out with her, Gar neglected to mention the fact that he and Vic only got Richard to go out with Rachel by paying him.

Changing the topic to a more pleasant one, Gar asked, "Have you heard about the party this weekend?"

"Yes," replied Tara, grateful for the change in subject, "And I really _really_ want to go. I have plans to go with Kori, Courtney and Karen and I'm praying I can convince Rachel to go."

Gar grinned, "It'd be great to see you there."

Tara smiled back at him, feeling another fresh wave of guilt. Not wanting to stay and feel even worse, she stated after a moment, "Hey, I should be getting back if I'm going to go through Rachel's room. I'll need all the time I can get before she gets back from soccer practice."

Giving an enthusiastic nod and completely unaware of her predicament, Gar gave her a last hug before returning to his car (she had insisted they drive separately stating that she needed to get her car home so she could drive herself to school the next day and not with Rachel) and driving off. Frowning, Tara did the same.

* * *

"Alright man, let's take a look at this," stated Victor, looking over the crumpled sheet of yellow-lined paper.

Smoothing it out, Vic and Gar leaned over to examine the information on the page. Putting down his shop equipment, Richard made his way over to his workbench, joining them in looking over the new information. He tried to look nonchalant but, in reality, he was incredibly relieved for this. It gave him an edge.

_**Music posters:**_

_**Evanescence, Paramore, Billy Talent, Metallica, Aerosmith, and Angels and Airwaves**_

A small note underneath read:

_**Concert tickets to see Coldplay and In This Moment**_

_**DVD collection:**_

_**Old Boy, Amelie, Raise Ravens, Perfume: Story of a Murderer, Raise the Red Lantern, The American Friend, I'm a Cyborg but that's okay, Chocolat, and Isn't Life a Bitch?**_

Under the DVDs listed, Tara had written a quick note in her tidy scrawl:

_**All foreign films-no specific country favoured**_

_**Recordings of Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon-likes a good laugh (?)**_

_**Random:**_

_**Owns a nice, glass Chess set, prominently displayed**_

_**Closet:**_

_**A few pretty dresses and...Other things ….things you buy for someone else to see**_

_**Books:**_

_**Currently reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath**_

_**Strong feminine authors, variety of topics**_

_**Many books dealing with mysteries and crime...Owns The Art of War by Sun Tzu**_

The note was short and, if the last section was any indication, she had run out of time and was unable to write more.

"Dude," Gar supplied, "I got Tara to tell me what the 'other things' were."

Raising an eyebrow, Richard stated, "Well, go on."

"Apparently it's lingerie," stated Gar nervously, "If that helps."

Awkward silence descended on the group as all three were left to their thoughts for a brief moment. Breaking the silence, Richard spoke.

"I can work with this," muttered Richard, his mind on overdrive.

Both Gar and Vic looked at each other and beamed. They had been worried that it wouldn't be enough and yet, it seemed, it would still help.

"We do good work," commented Gar, feeling elated.

Barely listening, Richard was busy formulating a plan. Grabbing the rumpled paper and tearing out of the shop room, he left behind a very confused duo behind.

"It was totally the lingerie," stated Gar, accompanying his statement with a suggestive eyebrow waggle.

* * *

Hearing a thud near her locker, Rachel turned to the source with a small smile on her face. She wasn't expecting him but, in all honesty, she should not have assumed he was Jinx, either.

Her smile instantly slid into a frown, "It's you."

"Yep," he replied with a grin.

"Persistent as ever, I see," she stated in her usual monotone hoping her lack of expression would convey once and for all that she was Not. Interested.

"Stubborn as ever," he replied cheekily.

She rolled her eyes and snapped, "Why can't you go bother someone else?"

Leaning down near her ear, he whispered, "Maybe I don't want anyone else."

Fighting back the shivers his close proximity gave her, she struggled to respond, "Tough luck."

Sadly, she knew this statement was nullified by the fact that her face was tomato red. Pushing Richard back, she quickly pulled up her hood while trying to focus on mundane items in the halls so that her blush would fade.

"You're not leaving me much of a choice," he said, looking at the petite girl with a new intensity.

She was glad for the security of her hood-his gaze was unnerving.

Confused, she asked, "What? You're not making sense. Maybe the rumours are true and you really are from a mental hospital. I'd certainly believe it."

Grabbing her bag, she slammed her locker closed and made her way to the exit. She resolved to skip soccer practice lest he stay and try to weasel her into another uncomfortable encounter.

She didn't expect him to grab her wrist and pull her back, however.

"_What do you want_?!" She cried, exasperated. It irked her the way that he just continued to pursue her.

Hearing a small _click_, Rachel looked down and finally understood what he was talking about. On her wrist was a gleaming silver cuff-the other was attached to Richard's wrist.

"You've _got_ to be fucking kidding me," she said, annoyed. All she wanted was to go home to a warm cup of tea and a good book. Hell, she'd even throw in a few rounds of bickering with her sister if it meant the opportunity to go home now.

It didn't help that he was grinning. He was _enjoying_ this.

Anger coursing through her, she used her free hand to smack him in the face. Well, she would've had this been a world that didn't take pleasure in torturing her. No, instead, he caught her hand in it's trajectory to his face, his amused smile getting bigger.

Ripping her hand away from him (and ignoring the odd tingling sensation she felt from the contact) she sent him a particularly harsh glare (icy even by her standards) before asking through gritted teeth, "Where. Is. The. Damn. Key?"

"At my house."

Groaning, she spat, "Lead on, then."

He chuckled, "I was actually envisioning this to me more of a scavenger hunt."

She looked at him, unimpressed, "A _scavenger hunt_? What are you, 5?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, a fact that irked Rachel more, before adding, "Point is-I'm not telling you where I live. You have to guess. When you find my house, I'll get the keys and let you go."

She frowned, "This is a suburb with about 100,000 people. How the_ hell_ am I supposed to find your house?"

"Well, seeing as we'll be passing many landmarks of this town-if you see a landmark you know and tell me a memory of yours surrounding it, I'll tell you which way to turn. Eventually, you'll find it."

She growled, "No."

Taken aback by this reaction, he decided to press his luck, "Why?"

"I'm not going to tell you about my life without reciprocity. No, for any story I tell you, you tell me one too."

"Fine," he muttered.

"Then you have a deal, I guess," she grumbled, "But don't think this changes anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied sarcastically.

Deciding not to comment, Rachel practically dragged him out of the school building. Turning to face the building, she pointed and stated, "School. Where I go everyday for a small dose of hell. There's story one."

He chuckled at her antics, "That doesn't count and you know it."

"Then what does count?" she asked, exasperated.

"A concrete story centred around a true event and involving at least one other person in the location specified," he stated.

"That was...oddly specific," she muttered, "You know, you've had way too much time to think about this, kid."

He shrugged, "That's your fault for giving me time to come up with things like this."

She growled, "Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

Innocently, he held up their wrists that were bound by the handcuffs.

"I. Hate. You," she growled, knowing that he was trying to get under her skin-and that it was working. Something about him was just..._infuriating. _

_"_Look, you want to do this or not?" He asked, "Otherwise we can just sit down here and wait for school tomorrow."

"Your parents would get worried," she huffed, "There's no way you'd actually do that."

"They wouldn't," he replied softly, "Wanna bet?"

Unsure of what to say, she decided to steer the conversation along another path.

"Whatever, let's get going. There, the park. Used to take Jinx's dog there all the time in the summer. That dog loved me wayy too much-never learned to go away. Sound like someone you know?"

He gave a small laugh, "Not at all. So why don't you go there anymore?"

"Jinx's dog, Wykkyd, had to be put down. Had tumors everywhere and kidney failure. She refused to get another saying they wouldn't be like Wykkyd. Not that I blame her."

He nodded, "Sorry I asked."

"Don't be," she replied, tersely, "I wouldn't have told you if it was too painful. That was a long time ago."

He nodded, "My turn, then?"

She nodded.

"Well, I have no memories of the park, actually. My family moved here about three years ago and I was away for one of those...," he trailed off.

She couldn't say what drove her-perhaps it was his dejected expression when talking about his family (a feature she could relate to in some ways)-but she dragged him down to the park and sat on the swings next to him. Without a word, she began to swing and he, being handcuffed and not relishing the idea of losing a hand, followed suit.

After a little while, when they both stopped, she explained, "Now you at least have one story about the park like everyone else in this town."

At that, he smiled. She wasn't nearly as mean as she had seemed a few days ago. That didn't mean, however, that he didn't think she could revert to the intimidating girl he'd grown accustomed to, but rather, that she did have other facets to her character-facets that would make his job easier to complete.

He frowned. Since he'd gone up to her locker, he'd forgotten all about the mission. It was just a normal date...and yet, it wasn't. He sighed and felt a stab of guilt when Rachel shot him a concerned look.

"You okay?"

"Fine."

She frowned but decided not to comment on his response, "Well, you still owe me a story. If not about the park then about something else."

Richard weighed his options. He could tell a boring, innocuous tale like the one she'd told-make something up since his childhood memories were few. But, he rationalised, this would do nothing to open her up, which was the purpose of this idea. If he didn't trust her first with a secret of his, she would never reveal any of her secrets.

Taking a steadying breath, he opted to tell a true story, "I actually don't have many memories of my childhood. Well, fun ones anyway. I can't remember if I ever went to a park with my parents, but I'm sure they loved me. They put me in gymnastics classes since I loved it so much. Being in the air made me feel like I could fly. But I quit soon after I started and never went back."

"Why?" she asked, curiosity permeating her voice.

"On the way to pick me up from one of my classes, my parents got into a car crash," he explained, deciding not to reveal that they had died just yet.

Her eyes widened in shock, "Oh. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

He shrugged easily, "It's okay. Bruce, my adopted father, has worked hard to make sure I had everything. I appreciate it but it also meant that he was often too busy to do much with me."

"Oh," she replied once again, unsure of how to react.

After a brief pause, she blurted, "How are you still so happy?"

He looked at her, surprised at her question. He shrugged, "I don't know. I don't give it much thought, I guess."

"I suppose it doesn't do to dwell on dreams and memories, does it?" she muttered to herself.

"Shall we continue on, then?" he asked, suddenly regretting bringing up his past. They had lost the semi-lighthearted mood they'd started with.

She shrugged, "This is your idea. Lead on. Oh and you're supposed to give me a direction to go."

He smiled, "Right. Northwest for a block."

Looking at the sun, which was slightly inching toward the West as the day dragged on, Rachel located North West and proceeded up that street for about a block, bringing her to the post office.

Seeing no other landmarks around, Rachel sighed. "I used to come here every week to write my mom and mail her a letter. She used to write back but the letters got progressively shorter and, eventually, stopped coming altogether. I hate the post office now."

It was Richard's turn to be surprised...he hadn't expected her to open up so quickly. Doing the first thing that came to mind, he hugged her. Awkwardly. He had forgotten about the handcuffs in that moment and it morphed into an awkward semi-hug with only one of his arms wrapped around the petite girl's frame.

Despite this, Rachel clearly bristled from the contact. After he pulled away, she stated, "I don't like being touched. That includes hugs."

Sheepishly, he apologised.

She shrugged, "It's fine. But I'm over the whole thing now-no hugs required."

He frowned, "How come Tara is okay with it all?"

Rachel shrugged, "She was too young to remember it or what happened because of it. Your turn."

Deciding not to press the issue further, Richard supplied his own story, "Like I said before, Bruce is almost always busy. He adopted me and Tim, who I consider my younger brother. Every year, I used to bring Tim here to send his Christmas list to Santa in the North Pole. The post office had a collection box of children's letters. I never know what they do with those-I think they must throw them out. For some reason, that always made me sad when I thought about Tim's wishes ending up in some dumpster. So, every year, I'd make a colour photocopy and have him send off the photocopy-he never could tell. A few years ago I gave him all the letters I had stashed away for Christmas-it was funny to see how he'd changed over the years both in what he asked for and how he decorated the letters."

Richard smiled lost in memory and Rachel, despite knowing he'd faced quite a bit in his childhood, found herself jealous of the sibling relationship he and Tim seemed to have. It was so different from the distant one she had with Tara.

"You're lucky to have him and vice versa," she supplied, "Must be nice being close to your sibling."

Richard smiled, "You are too. You and Jinx _are, _in a weird way, sisters. Tim isn't related to me, Rachel. You choose your own family, sometimes."

"I suppose," she replied thoughtfully, "I never thought of it that way."

He grinned, "Happy to help."

She snorted, "I don't call being chained to you _help_. Unless you mean helping me along the path to insanity."

He laughed, a full-blown, unrestrained laugh, "What can I say? I don't want to be the only insane one. And you seemed closest to the edge of sanity."

She smiled, "Selfish bastard. Which way?"

"Take a right and continue two blocks."

Following his directions, she found they arrived at one of the suburb's main roads. They also happened to be across the street from a Mediterranean place. This time, Richard dragged Rachel into the place, dubbed Pita Inn.

"Why are we here?" she asked, bored.

"I was hungry," he practically whined.

Rolling her eyes in response, she muttered, "_Men._"

He gave an embarrassed shrug, "I'm a growing boy."

She chuckled.

He stared.

"_What?" _she snapped, slipping back in to her abrasive self.

"Nothing, nothing," stated Richard, "I just love the way you laugh, is all."

Now she stared.

Richard looked up at the ceiling and willed the ground to swallow him whole. That was the problem with Rachel-she still unnerved him even when she was being open. She made him feel almost...inadequate. He didn't know how to react around her-she appreciated honesty, he knew, yet responded to it in the most peculiar ways. Like now. Staring at him. Making him regret saying anything at all.

"That wasn't a laugh," she stated defensively.

"Whatever, it was still nice," he replied, "Accept the compliment."

She frowned, suddenly serious, "Why are you doing all of this, Richard?"

"Wh-what do you-u mean?" he stuttered, hoping she hadn't found out about the obligation he was currently under.

"I mean...Look, I'm not stupid. I'm not nice to anyone in school. So why did you ever bother asking me out?" she asked, scowling, "It can't be looks because I don't try to look pretty for school. Which means you're trying to prove something. Just what are you trying to do?"

He smiled, his insides squirming at the lie, "I just wanted to get to know you. I figured you aren't that way with everyone-look at Jinx-and, I guess, I was just curious about you. You piqued my interest."

She arched one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows, "You are crazy. I don't think I'll ever understand you. But you're not so bad, I guess."

He laughed, "Would you want to? And how's that for a compliment? I tell you you're interesting and you reciprocate with 'you're not terrible'."

"Probably not," she reasoned.

After a pause she added, "And be glad for any compliment." Then she stuck her tongue out at him.

He chuckled, "And you say I'm a kid?"

"I can't help it," she deadpanned, "I feel my IQ slipping every moment I'm around you."

Seeing as they were the next ones up, Richard decided not to continue the verbal sparring and instead asked, "You want anything?"

"Perhaps an order of the falafels," she replied.

"That's it?" he asked, surprised, "That only comes with four of them, you know."

She gave him a small smile, "We don't all have insatiable stomachs, Rich."

He smiled, noticing that she was finally using his first name. Even shortening it to a nickname.

"Suit yourself."

Placing their orders, Richard led her to the tables and noticed how she led them to one of the ones in the corners, where it was darker and more secluded. She really did prefer to keep to herself, he noted.

Sitting at a four-person table (so they could sit side-by-side due to their present condition), Richard broke the silence, "Wanna play 20 questions?"

Again, she raised her brow at him quizzically, "You really are a child, aren't you?"

"I just like strategy," he explained, "And, believe it or not, there is some strategy to 20 questions."

"Why the interest in strategy?" she probed.

"Always wanted to be a detective or something."

She smiled, "I can see that. It would suit you. And that's a field where persistence pays off."

He teased, "Persistence always pays off."

She scoffed, "I beg to differ."

He decided not to point out that it had, in fact, worked with her and, instead, replied, "I should've taken us to Forest Cafe, instead."

"Why is that?"

"They have better ways of passing the time," he explained, "Some of the tables have chess boards on them. We could've played."

"What makes you think I like chess?" she teased, "I could find it incredibly dull."

"Like everyone else?" he replied playfully, "And here I thought you were different."

Rolling her eyes at his antics, and ignoring his unnerving spot-on guess at her love of the game, she corrected, "I actually love chess. Unfortunately, I haven't played in years. I'm probably no good anymore."

"Don't sell yourself short," he chided, "You're incredibly smart. I'm sure you'd be able to keep up with the best of them. Once you learn it, it never really goes away."

Feeling the blush creeping up her neck, she bowed her head to let her midnight black tresses create a barrier so he wouldn't see it.

"Um, thanks."

Thankfully, she was saved further embarrassment as the food was finally brought to their table.

* * *

**So...I can't tell if I made this go too fast or not. Thoughts? **

**Also, this isn't the end of their excursion but, sadly, I do have an essay due Monday and I need to actually start it :P **

**Please drop me a short review-it makes my day! :)**

**~RR**


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